Long Period

[superyank]

I am 40 year old started periods at 12yrs regular 28 days cycle bleed for 5 days Never had any problems No Children.  On 1/11/07 got period on 21st day of cycle and have been bleeding non stop since over two weeks Call GYN last week got appt for March 23 they did not feel this was a problem; call back again Friday told them this is not normal could I get see earlier best they will do is Feb 14 appt.  Is bleeding this long a problem should I be going to see regular doctor or wait for GYN appt.

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

A. Sudden abnormal bleeding could be due to many things, some are potentially serious and others just a bother.  Some common things can be low iron. So taking an over the counter iron could help stop the problem. An abnormal pregnancy. So getting a pregnancy test from the drug store if there is any chance of being pregnant. Other common problems are abnormal hormone levels your doctor would have to draw from your blood – such as estrogen, progesterone and FSH. Your doctor might want to get an ultrasound of your pelvis to see if there is a polyp (a benign growth) or a fibroid (another benign growth) inside your uterus. He or she could order these hormone tests and ultrasound ahead of time along with a blood count to see if you are anemic. Sometimes the doctor will take a small sample of the uterine lining while you are at the office. This is called an endometrial biopsy and takes a week or two for the results to come back. Probably it can wait until February 14th, but having the tests mentioned above will make the visit much more useful both to you and the doctor.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD